An exciting new partnership is bringing together the University of Exeter and the Eden Project in a bid to pilot new methods for understanding how people’s environmental experiences change over time.

Hoping to shed light on how people interact with environmental attractions, such as the Eden Project, the team are asking people to get involved in an innovative pilot study.

Visitors to Eden are being invited to use a mobile app called ‘ramblr’ that allows them to map their route around the site and add photos and videos at points they find interesting.

Researchers are hoping that the pilot study will inform the development of new app-based research tools that could be used to provide important insights into how people at different stages in their lives experience the Eden Project for health, happiness and wellbeing.

Dr Sarah Bell from the University of Exeter Medical School is leading the study and said:

“People’s perceptions and experiences of different ‘natural’ environments can vary through their lives. By using an existing mobile app to capture insights from visitors from all walks of life, we’re hoping to get an inside look at how this process works, and how it influences visitor experiences at the Eden Project.”

The study is also collaborating closely with Cornish Artist James Eddy to create a new garden exhibit in Eden’s outdoor biome. This will convey ideas about how our perceptions of these environments can change over time, so keep your eyes peeled for a horticultural “river” of life taking shape on site.

Work on the project has started this month (September 2015) and represents just one in a series of joint projects between the University of Exeter and the Eden Project that will be taking place throughout 2016.

More information about the ‘Landscapes of the Life Course’ initiative is available here.

If you have any questions or would like to take part in the pilot study, please get in touch with Sarah at Sarah.Bell@exeter.ac.uk.